US-China battle presents an opportunity for Latin America's middle men

Workers watch as a machine loads soybeans into the ‘Stella Pearl’ cargo ship headed to China at the Tiplam terminal in Santos, Brazil

Luc Cohen

As the trade dispute between the United States and China was gaining steam last month, a half-dozen Chinese dancers and a person in a panda bear suit paraded across a stage inside a hotel lobby in the heart of Argentina's wine country.

The March 24 ceremony celebrated the Washington-based Inter-American Development Bank's (IDB) choice to hold its next annual meeting in Chengdu, China, a decision criticised by the United States, whose regional influence has been increasingly challenged by the Asian economic superpower.